Toilet fume exhaust



Aug. 21, 1962 B. o. BOGGS 3,049,722

TOILET FUMEI EXHAUST Filed April 28, 1960 INVENTOR. BEL/C6 004w 5066s,

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Unite 3,349,722 TOILET FUME EXHAUST Bruce Oden Boggs, 4497 Pearl Lane, RR. 5, Batavia, Ohio Filed Apr. 28, 196i), Ser. No. 25,372 1 Claim. (Cl. 4-213) This invention resides in an arrangement for exhausting toilet fumes to the building exterior in a positive manner as soon as they occur.

A very important object of the invention is to provide an arrangement which will function positively immediately as required and with a minimum of possible difficulty.

Another important object of the invention is to provide means for drawing fumes from a toilet and exhausting them, which means are in operation only when the toilet is in use, whereby to prevent undue escape of heat from the bathroom.

A further important object of the invention is to provide means of the type described which are economical to manufacture, simple to install and free of complications in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fume exhaust arrangement in which the system, from point of entry at the bowl to point of final discharge to atmosphere is unbroken at all times, including those during which the seat is raised and lowered.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art during the course of the following description and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which drawings like numerals are employed to designate like parts, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation, partly diagrammatic in nature, with parts broken away and parts in section, showing the invention,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1,

'FIGURE 3 is a top plan view, with parts broken away, showing portions of the invention, and

FIGURE 4 is a front view of a toilet to which the invention has been applied, with parts in section and parts broken away, the view being that which would be seen from the left hand side of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawings, a conventional toilet bowl is shown at with a seat 11 hinged at 12 and a lid hinged at 14.

An exhaust chamber 15, to receive fumes from the toilet bowl 10, is located beneath one side of the seat 11. The chamber 15 may be made of a suitable plastic material and will have an opening 16' which communicates with the interior of the area defined by the bowl 10 and seat 11. The eflective volume of the chamber 15 may be increased by hollowing a portion of the seat 11 as indicated at 17. The chamber 15 is connected to the exhaust conduit member 18. If desired the chamber 15 and member 18 may be made as one.

Fixed in a suitable building wall 19 is the exhaust conduit 20. The conduit 20 has a terminal portion 21 which is received Within the member 18. The portion 18:: of the member 18 receives the portion 21 of the conduit 20 and rotates about it, but in substantially air tight fashion. This is aided by means of a rod 22 which is fixed to a spider (not shown) in the member 18-1811 and has a bearing in the wall of the conduit 20. An important feature of this arrangement is that the center line of the pivotal connection between the members 18 and 20 (through their portions 18a and 21 respectively), as substantially represented by the rod 22, coincides with the extension of the centerline for the hinges 12 and 14 of the seat 11 and lid 13 respectively. Thus the basic hinge member 23 for the hinges 12 and 14- is in aais zz? Patented Aug. 21, 1952 alignment with the rod 22. This simplifies the matter of making the members 15 and 18 as one and it makes possible the substantially air tight pivotal connection between the members 18:: and 21.

Fixed to the lower side of the seat 11 and disposed towards the front thereof is a conventional rest pad or button 24 which may be made of hard rubber or some other suitable material. The button 24 will, of course, abut the top rim of the bowl 10 when the toilet seat 11 is in use. The size of the button 24 is such that when it is forced into contact with the bowl 10, the chamber 15 will remain out of contact with the bowl 10.

Also fixed towards the front of the seat 11, on the underside thereof, is another button 25. This button 25, however, has an important function quite diiferent from that of the button 24-. This button 25 is secured to a diaphragm 26 mounted in the seat 11. Within the flexible diaphragm 26 is a spring 27 which urges the button to the position shown in FIGURE 4. Preferably the spring 27 is designed not to yield until a force of about 15 pounds has been exerted on it through the seat 11. When the seat is in its lower position, but not in use, the arrangement of the buttons 24 and 25 is such as shown in FIGURE 4 wherein it will be seen that the button 24 is out of contact with the bowl 141 when the button 25 rests on this bowl. Also, the button 25 extends beyond the lower edge of the chamber 15. Again, when the force of the spring 27 is overcome and the seat 11 moved to its lowermost position, the arrangement is such that the contact of the button 24 with the bowl 10 will maintain the lowermost portion of the chamber 15 out of contact with the bowl.

Connected to the flexible diaphragm 26 is a tube 28. The tube 28 is flexible and may be made of any suitable material such as one of the modern plastics. =Flexible tubes of this type are readily available on the market. Preferably the tube 28 extends from the flexible diaphragm 26, through the hollowed area 17 of the seat 11, and through the fume conduit 20.

The tube 28 is also connected to another flexible diaphragm 29. The diaphragms 26 and 29, coupled with the tube 23, constitute a closed system. The diaphragm 29 is normally in its collapsed condition While the diaphragm 26 is normally in its expanded position as urged by the spring 27. When the diaphragm 26 is collapsed, as will happen when the force of the spring 27 is overcome by the weight of one using the toilet, air will be forced from the diaphragm 26, through the tube 28, to the diaphragm 29. This diaphragm 29 is secured to a bracket 3% fixed in the chamber 31.

An exhaust conduit 32 extends from the chamber 31 to atmosphere. A blower 33 is mounted in the chamber. Leads 34 and 34a extend from a suitable source of electricity to the blower 33 and to a mercury switch 35. The mercury switch 35 is normally open, in which condition the flow of electricity to the blower 33 is interrupted. The switch 35 is pivotally connected to the bracket portion 36a as indicated at 36. A rod 37 connects the diaphragm 29 to the depending stem 38 of the switch 35. As just indicated, this switch 35 and its member 33 are pivotally connected to the bracket portion a at the point 36.

In the position shown in FIGURE 1 the blower 33 is inoperative. Upon expansion of the diaphragm 29, the rod 37 will move to the right, as viewed in FIGURE 1, thereby rotating the mercury switch in a counterclockwise direction about the point 36. When the switch is so moved an electrical connection is efiected, in conventional manner, whereby the blower 33 is actuated. Suitable extensions of the leads 34 to the switch 35 and blower 33 are indicated at 34a. When the diaphragm 29 returns to its collapsed position the switch 35 will again assume the position shown in FIGURE 1 and the blower 33 will no longer be actuated.

The blower 33 is situated so as to move air from within th chamber 31 to atmosphere via the conduit 32. This creates a low pressure within the chamber 31 which causes any fumes within the area defined by the bowl and lid 11 to exit through the chamber 15, member 18 and conduit 20. Fumes thus collected within the chamber 31 are blown therefrom through the conduit 32 by means of this blower 33.

Although it is believed that the operation of the invention has been made clear from the foregoing description, a brief review will be given here. FIGURES 1 and 4 represent the relative position of the various mechanisms when the toilet is not in use. Upon a force greater than that required to collapse the spring 27 being applied to the seat 11, the button 24 is brought into contact with the bowl 10 while the chamber 15 is still maintained out of contact with this bowl. Upon collapse of the spring 27 and corresponding collapse or movement of the flexible diaphragm 26, air within this diaphragm moves through the tube 28 to expand the diaphragm 29. This results in the rod 37 tilting the switch 35 about the pivot point 36 so as to complete an electrical connection such as to effect operation of the blower 33. Operation of the blower 33 serves to draw fumes from the toilet bowl area through the chamber 15, member 18 and conduit 20 to the chamber 31 whereafter these fumes are blown from the chamber by the blower 33 through the conduit 32 to atmosphere. By this arrangement it will be apparent that the blower 33 operates only when the toilet is in use thereby preventing unnecessary withdrawal of heated air from the bathroom. Alignment of the axes 22 and 23 makes it possible to maintain a substantially closed system at all times.

Although the invention has been described in connection with particular mechanisms and arrangements, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof and, therefore,

4 the invention is not to be limited to such particular mechanisms and arrangements except insofar as they are specifically set forth in the subjoined claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is new and what is desired to be protected by United States Letters Patent is:

An arrangement for exhausting fumes from a toilet bowl which comprises: a toilet seat hinged to said toilet bowl along a horizontal axis, a first chamber fixed to the lower side of said seat and extending forwardly from said horizontal axis a substantal distance, said first chamber being in communication with the interior of said bowl above the water line thereof and having a coupling member extending therefrom, a second chamber, a conduit, one end of said conduit communicating with said second chamber and the other end of said conduit being rotatably received within said coupling member in a substantially air tight manner, said coupling member being rotatable about an axis which is in alignment with said first mentioned axis, a blower disposed in said second chamber, an exhaust conduit from said second chamber to the atmosphere, a normally open switch connected to said blower and a source of electricity, said blower directing gases from said second chamber through said exhaust conduit, a first diaphragm, a second diaphragm, and a tube connecting said diaphragms, said diaphragms and said tube constituting a closed system containing air, said second diaphragm having an operative connection to said switch, said first diaphragm being positioned to be actuated by the weight of one using the toilet seat, actuation of said first diaphragm causing the air in said closed system to actuate said second diaphragm and thereby said switch whereby to operate said blower.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,700,936 Klemish et al. Feb. 5, 1929 2,122,687 Herrman July 5, 1938 2,309,885 Carman Feb. 2, 1943 

